Apam arrives, works on fitness, eager to play

On how he connected with the club: There was a discussion between the club and my agent. And when my agent told me, I was very happy, and everything went very well.

On his relationship with Obafemi Martins: We played together in national team. We have been good friends and we play together. … He told me a lot of good things about the club and about the people. It was so impressive what he told me.

About himself: I’m happy to be here and I’m glad to be here. I’m working toward my fitness. … Football game is a team game, it’s not individual, so first of all I need to get to know how the team plays. I’ll give it my best as an individual as well, but first to get to know the way they play and fitting onto the team.On if he knew anything about Sounders or MLS from France: Not really. I watched a couple of games, but there’s quite a time difference. Not that much.

On possibility of playing MLS or reserve games next week in Colorado: I don’t know yet. It depends on the coach. It depends on how everything works during the week. If I’m OK, why not? I’m here to play. … I feel good. I was a little bit tired because of the travel and time difference, but in time I will be OK, adjust. … I have been training on my own, and with my agent I have been working out. Actually I wasn’t thinking of signing any contract this summer. … My agent called me. I was already training on my own.

On his preferred position: I prefer playing right back.

Here's some from coach Sigi Schmid:

On Apam today: We really wanted to evaluate where he was at fitness-wise and so forth as he’s coming in. For us right now, we’ll take a look at his numbers. We’ll probably establish a fitness regimen with him. There were some good things: at the beginning of practice, close in tight, you could see he’s got some good defensive tendencies, which is a good thing. He’s got good quickness, which is another thing we were looking for. It’s just a matter of making sure that we get him fit, get him up to speed, give him an opportunity where he can do well, and not put him into a situation too early.

On potential for Reserve League duty Monday at Colorado: We’d have to see. It would probably be limited minutes in a reserve game.

On his he reminds of anyone in the league: I can’t really say. Maybe a little bit – from the standpoint of a center back of his size – maybe like a DeLaGarza trying to play center back as well, an undersized center back who relies on his instincts.

Playing timetable: We’ll see. I definitely think the next two or three games is probably too early, but I’m not going to be a timetable on it. Everybody goes through that a little bit different. Some guys catch fitness pretty quickly. He’s not a big guy. Usualy the big guys have a harder time catching fitness. So he’s not a big guy in that regard, and we’ll see how he comes along. As long as we establish a good regimen, hopefully we’ll be able to bring him along.

On his ability to play right back in 2015: There’s different things we need to look at. Next season is next season, that’s still far away. But obviously you have things in the back of your mind, and that’s apposition that we might have to find a steady player at as well.

OBAFEMI MARTINSOn Apam: He needs to be fit. He has not been training for a while. We don’t have time anyway, like the league is. I hope he’s going to start playing soon.

On imput to the Sounders about Apam: He’s a good player. When he’s fit, I think then we’ll see more of him. But I can’t really say more about him now because now he needs to train, to get fit.

On advice about coming to MLS: I said to him the fact that I’m here means the team is good. He was happy, and said he’s ready to come. I said, ‘You have to come because this is a good team. If you are going to came to MLS, this is one of the best teams. We have good players, as well, so it’s going to make it easier for you to play.”

Once Apam's fit: He’s just going to fit in. That’s the only thing I can say. When he’s fit, he’s ready to go.

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